


salt and pepper

by imposterhuman



Series: ironstrange vs. the rogues [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Pepper Potts, Consequences, Gen, Not Steve Friendly, Team Iron Man, legal action, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 23:04:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16842250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imposterhuman/pseuds/imposterhuman
Summary: pepper takes on the rogues





	salt and pepper

**Author's Note:**

> i feel like ive been neglecting pepper and shes one of my favorite characters in the whole mcu
> 
> so here i tried to remedy it
> 
> there isnt a whole lot of ironstrange even though this is in my ironstrage vs. the rogues series, but i couldnt think of a way to put more in that felt natural, you know?

Pepper strode into the common area with all the fury of a demon, carefully wrapped in a tailored suit and six inch heels. In her hands, she held a sheaf of papers, blood red nails contrasting nicely with the black and white stack.

“Pepper!” Rogers greeted when the elevator doors opened.

“That’s Ms. Potts to you and your…  _ team _ ,” Her distaste was evident in her tone. 

“Tony is downstairs in the lab,” Romanoff said angrily. FRIDAY had filled her in on all of the Rogues’ attempts to break into Tony’s lab (which was locked up tighter than the Raft) during their weekly bitching session.

“I’m not here for Tony,” Pepper replied coolly. “I have deliveries for all of you.”

Barton scoffed. “Do you have any self-respect?” he sneered. “I thought you were his CEO, not his messenger girl.”

Pepper smiled, the predator smile she used on board members and investors who thought it’d be a good idea to fuck with her. “I volunteered for this,” she smirked. “I think that I’m going to enjoy this a lot.”

The room collectively flinched back, though it was more noticeable in some than in others. Pepper couldn’t blame them, though; she knew she was intimidating. They all had no doubt heard stories about Extremis, and just this once, she missed the simmering feeling of it under her skin. The Rogues would probably listen to her if she could melt their faces off with a touch, she reasoned. She didn’t have armor like Tony’s (although he  _ had  _ been trying to get her into something called Rescue), but her Armani suit would have to do.

To start off the process, she turned her wolf smile on Wilson. “Sam Wilson,” she announced, handing him a stack of papers off the top of her pile. “Consider this your formal notice; SI is suing you for property damage and theft. The so-called ‘Falcon Wings’ were an SI project, property of Tony Stark. You not only took them, but damaged them beyond repair. In addition, the UN would like to inform you that you are not considered a good candidate for the New Avengers. You have thirty days to vacate UN housing. You will also be required to pay a portion of damages for the destruction done at Leipzig-Halle. The UN has an estimate, they will be in touch.”

Throughout her speech, Wilson had gotten paler and paler. “Is that everything?” he replied weakly. 

Pepper nodded. “I’ll have an assistant contact you on the court date,” she replied. She ignored the protests of the other Rogues, instead addressing the next name on her list. “Scott Lang,” she said. “Pym Technologies  _ will  _ be pressing charges for theft, defamation, and destruction of property. They are taking back the ‘Ant-Man’ suit, so unless you have undisclosed abilities, you are no longer being considered for the New Avengers. Please leave the UN facilities by thirty days from now. You will also be required to pay for Leipzig-Halle, the UN will reach out with their estimate,” Pepper’s face took on a more sympathetic cast. “The courts have also decided to limit your visitation with Cassandra Lang, citing potential danger with you being a fugitive combined with breaking your parole. You can appeal this, but I doubt you’ll win.” Pepper felt sorry for Lang, she really did, but it was his choice to leave his family for Captain Righteous, damn the consequences.

Lang didn’t respond beyond a sad nod before walking out of the room. Pepper had no doubt that he was going to cry in private and, truly, she didn’t blame him. Showing weakness in front of the Rogues was like hopping in a shark tank covered in blood.

“Clint Barton,” Pepper said next. “First, I have divorce papers for you from Laura. She got full custody in absentia and requests that you don’t contest it,” Barton paled and was likely about to spit vitriol at her, but she held up one delicate hand and continued. “SI is suing you as well for theft and property damage; your bow and arrows were all SI designed and manufactured and are the legal property of Tony Stark. After careful consideration, the UN has deemed you an acceptable candidate for the New Avengers, provided you pass a psych eval and remain well-behaved during your probationary period. The UN has also found your impact on Leipzig-Halle to be negligible, so you don’t owe damages for that.” Barton got an angry look on his face at that, which Pepper wholly understood; she was calling him basically useless, after all. “Vision will also be suing for assault.”

“That’s not fair!” he said hotly. “Stark can’t keep me from my kids!” Barton stood up, hands clenched into fists.

“Tony is doing nothing of the sort,” she replied, voice icy. Her heart was racing just a little; threats of physical violence has always unsettled her. “Laura chose this on her own, and politely requests that you respect it. Now, sit back down before I call security.” 

Romanoff shot her an unreadable look and pulled Barton back down. Pepper sent her a tight smile in response.

“Natasha Romanoff,” she said, focusing on the redheaded woman. “SI is suing you for property damage and theft, like the rest. You, like Barton, committed a negligible amount of property damage at Leipzig-Halle, so you will not be held responsible for compensation. However, the UN intends to try you in the ICC for violating the Accords after signing and the US intends to try you for treason for your actions during the SHIELD data dump. You willingly and knowingly put classified US secrets on the internet. Russia is pushing for extradition after some of your earlier crimes came to light during the data dump, but the UN is putting that on hold for now. Even if you are cleared on all counts, the UN considers you a flight risk and is not amenable to extending Avengers membership to you at this time.” Pepper’s smile was dangerous, begging to be challenged. Romanoff tilted her head but acquiesced gracefully. No doubt the little spider was trying to think her way out of the consequences already. 

Pepper was a little pissed that Tony wouldn’t let her go after Romanoff for corporate espionage and, of course, performing medical procedures without consent or a license, but he claimed that that was too far in the past to bring up without looking petty. Pepper wanted to be petty, but she let it go when he asked. 

Pepper turned to the witch. She was going to enjoy this one.

“Wanda Maximoff,” her voice was iron, unwavering and hard. “SI is suing you for property damage, as the Compound that you put Vision through the floor of was and still is SI property. Vision will be charging you for the assault portion of that. Tony Stark, however, will be charging you with much more than that.” Pepper was sure she looked like a shark, her smile more a baring of teeth than anything else. “He will be charging you with assault and attempted murder.” The Rogues all gasped and protested. “You dropped a tower of cars on him,” Pepper pointed out. “That’s attempted murder, especially considering your well-documented hatred of Tony.”

“He killed my parents! He killed Pietro!” Wanda seethed.

“Actually,” Pepper said unsympathetically. “HYDRA killed your parents. The very organization you sold yourself to dropped a fake bomb on a civilian block. Tony Stark never sold to Sokovia, and none of Stane’s under the table dealings made it past the Middle East. And Pietro died in a warzone partially of your making, saving a man who was  _ not  _ Tony.” Red pooled at Wanda’s hands at that revelation, but Pepper wasn’t finished. “The UN also plans to try you for crimes against humanity. Footage of you learning to control your powers was leaked, and the hundreds of civilians whose minds you tore apart with a smile have families that demand justice.” The red was frothing at Wanda’s fingertips and some of it was crawling towards Pepper. “If you try and magic me,” Pepper said bluntly. “I will sue you for assault as well. I’m warded, so it won’t  _ work,  _ but its the principle of the thing, don’t you think? The UN is not considering you as a candidate for the New Avengers, and you will be transferred to the Hague before trial, as you are considered a dangerous criminal.”

Pepper deliberately turned her back on Maximoff, making sure her body language projected anything but fear. In turning away from Wanda, she was facing Rogers, the name on the top of her list.

“Steve Rogers,” she said, relishing in his small gulp of fear. “I have quite the long list here for you. For starters, of course, SI is suing for property damage and theft. The shield is not nor has ever been legally yours. It has belonged to the Starks, first Howard, then Tony. You will be paying a significant amount of damages for your actions in Leipzig-Halle. Tony will be pressing charges for assault, attempted murder, obstruction of justice, and theft. You left Tony for dead in Siberia, don’t think that he or I have forgotten. The UN doesn’t want a fugitive who has already shown that his number one priority is not justice, but James Barnes, so you will also be held at the Hague awaiting trial, unless you can pay bail. Speaking of money,” Pepper’s glare intensified. “The amount of money you have spent on unsanctioned missions will need to be repaid. In the contract SI signed with SHIELD, SHIELD said they’d pay for your missions, but in the event of them being unable to continue, the burden would fall on the Avengers not associated with SI. As team leader, that falls to you. I hope you have several million dollars holed up somewhere.”

During her rant, Pepper didn’t notice that all of the other Rogues had fled. It was just her and Rogers.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked weakly.

“You broke the law,” she shot back. “It has consequences.”

“No, I know that,” he said, somewhat impatiently. “I meant, why are  _ you _ doing this? Doesn't the UN have others who could’ve done this?”

“I asked,” Pepper said slowly, measuredly. “Because this is personal to me. You hurt Tony; you betrayed him, lied to him, treated him like dirt, refused to compromise. I could go on and on, but I won’t. All this for Barnes, because you decided he mattered more than Tony. You decided Tony was your doormat, your scapegoat, and that won’t stand anymore. He's happy now, he has Stephen and the New Avengers at his side. They're a team like you never were. He has a partner that loves him, a team that cares about him, friends who respect him. you're nothing to him anymore.” Pepper started to walk away towards the elevator, leaving Rogers shellshocked behind her. “I have connections that you can’t begin to understand, as well as more power than you will ever have. I can ruin you and do it with a smile on my face, completely legally. And don’t worry, I plan to. You’d burn the world down for your best friend,” Pepper looked back over her shoulder, face set. “What do you think I’d do for mine?”

**Author's Note:**

> whatd you think? all the legal stuff is completely unfounded, i am not a lawyer nor did i do any research whatsoever
> 
> prompts/suggestions welcome!


End file.
